Apparatus for forming the ends of wood pieces



May 24, J, w SWENSON 2,470,959

APPARATUS FOR FORMING THE ENDS OF WOOD PIECES Filed May 12, 1944 9 I5 I9 ,7 F/G.

' m wwrglyilnm 22 am a I'NVENTOR. .705EPH W. 5 WEN50N Patented May 24,1949 UNITED $470,959. APPARATUSPITGB FORMING THE END'S orwoon PIECESJoseph Swanson, summit, 'N. J.

Application May -1'2, 1944, Serial No. 535,303

10 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an apparatus for forming the 'endsof woodpieces such as hereinafter referred to as pickets, and ornamental shapessimulating a ship of the destroyer type. The pickets. are relativelynarrow boards having their: opposite edges at one end ar cuately formedwith the apex meeting substantially on the "me- 'dia'n line "of thepicket, while the ornamental 'shapeshave both'ends arcuately cut. Y

After considerable study, I have evolved a relatively "simple apparatuswherein these picket ends and ornamental shapes. may be formed by theapparatus being "operated either manually orbyother power, such as anelectric motor.

"Iheapparatus to be described is so constructed that different widths'of pickets may be operated on, or the an'gularity off the line 'of cutmay be varied, and hence the primary object "of the invention is toprovide a relatively simple and inexpensive apparatus for obtaining theaforesaid ieatures, safety in operation being one of the importantfactors of the invention. In describing my invention, I have chosen todescribe it in connection with a picket since the ornamental feature isan adjunct thereto.

My invention will be readily understood b ref erence to the annexeddrawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is atop plan view of Figure 2, without the picket.

Figure 2 is a side elevation "of the apparatus with the picket in place,ready to be operated on.

Figure 3 is a view of Figure 2 looking from right to left, without thepicket. I

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing in full lines theposition of the parts during part of the cutting stroke, and in dottedlines the full end of the stroke.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing an ornamental device simulating aship in which the main parts are made by the apparatus of Figures 1 toinclusive.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of a motor control for operatingthe'structure. v

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the cam which. ma be used with theapparatus in Figure "6.

Referring now to the details, wherein like numbers refer tocorresponding parts in the various views, I is a support memberpreferably of strong metal such as sheet steel, having a ledge portion 2with holes 3 at its opposite ends for fastening to any desired member.Fastened at its oppo site ends, as by bolts 4 and 5, is a rigid bar 6.The bar 6 is spaced a distance away from the support I but extendssubstantially parallel thereto. The end 1 which receives the bolt 4 isbent inwardly toward the support to form an en; gagement'sui'face'forthe bolt 4. At the opposite end 'of the bar 6, the bolt 5 acts as apivot stud, going through a member 8 and'th-rough the sup, port I. Ifdesired, the support may be threaded to receive the bolt 5, and "a nut 9is used to hold the stud 'sec'urely'in position.

Preferably, spacing washers l0 and H aroused, respectively, between thebar 6 and the member 8, and the support I and the member 8. I prefer tomake the member 8 of Wood or plastic material. The bar 6 has additionalmeans, suchas holes 12, through which the pivot stud 5 may be passed,not only through the bar 6, but through the member 8 and the support I,so that the stud may be used in either of the two holes 12.

'Pivoted to the rnember 8 by a stud iii, are. a pair of spaced, rigidbars I! and [5 which extend. butwardly from the opposite sides of themember 8. Fast'ened between the bars I l and I5, asb'y a stud or screw[6, is a grip block II. This is also preferably made of wood or plasticmaterial. The bars M and [5 may be slotted or provided with one or moreholes such as 35 for adjusting the position of the block I!longitudinally of the bars fit and I5. The edge of the block IT, towardthe member '8, has a slight taper as indicated at B. Also fastenedbetween thebars I' t'and l5, as by a plurality of screw-studs l9 and '2is a strip 21 preferably of wood or plastic material terminating in 'ahandle portion '22. .As shown inFi'gur-e 2-, the block I! has a recessinto which the end of the strip 2'l ma extend. V

The member 8 has a through-stud 24 which is adapted to be engaged by thebars l4 and f5 rs'r returning them to normal position. The support I hasa stud 25 acting as a stop for the member 8 iii its normal position. Thesupport I also carries a stop 25 in the form of a short plate having oneend bent around a holding stud 21 which is positioned in a Soil; 28 inthe 'support The stud 21 carries a wing nut 2Q whereby the stop plate 26may be readily adjusted vertically in the support I.

Fast'ened between the fixed bar 6 and the support I, is a knife orcutter 3!]. The bar -6 may be provided with a slot or one or more holes3! whereby the cutter may be adjusted longitudinally 'of the bar 6. Theadjustment features re ferred to are for the purpose of changing theangularity of the out and accommodating different Widths of woos pieces.The latter, owever; may be attained by removing the piece 23, which isheld to the under side of the strip 2| by one ear more screws; andattaching it to the engage ment edge of the member 8 to serve as aspacer for a narrower picket or piece of wood.

In the operation of the structure just described, and as illustrated inFigures 1 to 4 inclusive, a picket or piece of wood P is insertedbetween the bars I4 and I5, being assisted by the inclined surface I8 onthe block W, and also downwardly between the fixed bar 6 and the supportI against the stop 26. On raising the bars I 4 and I upwardly abouttheir pivot I 3, through the medium of the member 2i and the handleportion 22, the block I I is moved into engagement with one edge of thepicket P, forcing the opposite edge of the picket against the relativelylong surface of the, member 8. Thus the picket P is gripped as in a viseand is carried upwardly with the arms I4 1 and I5. This action causesthe member 8 to rotate about its pivot stud 5 and swing the picket aboutthis center, causing the knife or cutter 3!] to engage the edge of thepicket and cut it on a line as indicated by the broken line 36 in Figure4, the end of the cut terminating substantially on the median line ofthe picket as indicated by the broken lines in Figure 4 which shows thefinal position of the apparatus at the end of the cutting operation.

The bars I4 and I5 are then moved downwardly by the handle 22, wherebyat least one of them engages the pin 24 which preferably extends all theway through the member 8 so that both bars I4 and I5 engage oppositeends of the pin. This carries the member 8 back to its normal positionagainst the stop 25. The picket P is then withdrawn and turned around sothat the opposite edge can be cut as just described.

In Figure 6, I have shown a power control for the apparatus. In thisfigure, the motor M is connected through a gear reduction to a magneticclutch C to which current is conveyed by the slip rings R and brushes Bthrough the medium of a switch S. The armature A of the clutch C isslidably but non-rotatably movable on a shaft 32 carried between bearingsupports 33. On the shaft, is fastened a cam 34 which may be of anysuitable form for engagement with the member 23 or an extension thereof,and in the claims, where I refer to a source of power, this may beeither manual or electro-mechanical.

In the operation of this device, when the switch S is closed, current isconveyed through the brushes B to the slip rings B into a coil, notshown, within the magnetic clutch C. This draws the armature A, which isslidably but non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 32, into fixedengagement with the clutch C. Assuming that the motor M is running, theshaft 32 is turned through the gear reduction G, and the cam 34 isbrought into engagement with the member 23 or an equivalent thereofattached to the bars I4 and I5.

After the cut on the picket or piece P has been made as described, theswitch S is opened at the right time of the cycle of operation, eithermanually or automatically, and the bars I4 and I5 with their associatedparts are: returned to normal position by a spring. In place of themagnetic clutch and cam described, a rack-and-pinion action may be used.Hence, the details for the electro-mechanical means may be varied over aconsiderable range.

In Figure 5, I have shown two wood pieces 31 and 38 cut by the apparatusjust described and fastened together in any satisfactory manner tosimulate a ship. The piece 38 may be fastened to 31 by the members 39,the center one of which may be in the form of a stack and the forwardand rear ones in the form of gun turrets. However, these last-mentioneddetails are no part of the present invention, Figure 5 being shownmerely to illustrate the adaptability of the apparatus to cutting pieceswhich may be used for other purposes than for fence pickets; hence I donot wish to be unduly limited as to the scope of my invention and theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets including, asupport, a rigid fixed bar fastened at one end to the support andextending longitudinally of the support in spaced relation thereto, thebar having its opposite end fastened t0 the support by a pivot stud, amember carried on said pivot stud between the bar and support and havingan engagement edge to receive one edge of a picket, a positioning stopfor said member fastened to the support, a pair of spaced bars extendingon opposite sides of said member above said fixed bar and pivoted to themember nearer said engagement edge than the said pivot stud for thepurpose described, a grip block fixedly carried between said pair ofbars to grip, between itself and said member, a picket adapted to bepassed between said pair of bars, the block and said member, a stopcarried by the support for the end of the picket, a cutter carriedbetween the fixed bar and the support so as to engage the picket and cutit on a curve when the picket is moved in the manner described by theconjoint action of said member and the block, means for lifting the barscarrying said grip block, and means carried by said member forengagement by said pair of bars when they are brought back to startinposition for returning said member to starting position against itsstop.

2. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets as set forth inclaim 1, further characterized in that means are provided for mountingsaid member on the pivot stud at different points along the length ofsaid fixed bar and support for the purpose described.

3. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets as set forth inclaim 1, further characterized in that the stop for the picket isvertically adjustable on the support, while the cutter is adjustablealong the length of the fixed bar for the purpose described.

4. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets as set forth inclaim 1, further characterized in that means are provided for mountingsaid member on the pivot stud at different points along the length ofsaid fixed bar and support, and further characterized in that the stopfor the picket is vertically adjustable on the support, while the cutteris adjustable along the length of the fixed bar for the purposedescribed.

5. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets including, anelongated support having a stop thereon, a rigid bar extendinglongitudinally of but in spaced relation with the support and fastenedat its opposite ends to the support, a member pivoted on one of saidfastenin means between the bar and support, said member hav ing astraight side of considerable length to engage the edge of a picket, apair of spaced bars pivoted to and on opposite sides of said memberabove said fixed bar and extending beyond the same, a grip blockfastened between said pivoted bars and having a gripping edge to engagea picket and adapted, when said pivoted bars are raised, to force apicket, inserted downwardly to said stop on the support between saidpivoted bars as well as between said fixed bar and the support, againstthe straight side of said member to move the picket with said memberaround its pivot, and a cutter carried by said fixed bar to cut anarcuate surface at the end of the picket when the movable bars areraised.

6. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets as set forth inclaim 5, further characterized in that the grip block has a slight taperon its gripping edge.

7. An apparatus for forming the ends of fence pickets as set forth inclaim 5, further characterized in that the said member has a pinprojecting from at least one side to be engaged by its correspondingpivoted bar for movin said member back to its normal stop position whenthe bars are returned to starting position.

8. An apparatus for forming the ends of wood pieces including a supporthaving a vertically adjustable stop for receiving the end of a Woodpiece 7 that is to be cut, a fixed bar extending longitudinally of thesupport, and having a portion spaced from the latter to pivotallyreceive a gripping member, a gripping member pivoted to the support andbar and havin substantially a straight edge to engage one edge of thewood piece to be cut, a grip block carried by means pivotally attachedto said member and normally positioned just above the fixed bar forgripping the Wood piece on the edge opposite to that engaged by saidmember, said member and block being moved simultaneously toward grippingand cutting positions, the block being normally spaced longitudinallyfrom said member a distance sufficient to allow a wood piece to beinserted in a vertical direction between them in edgewise position downto the stop and a cutter non-rotatably fastened at least in part to thesupport and. extending downwardly into the upward path of movement ofthe wood piece for cutting away one end edge of the piece as the pieceis moved, said means for carrying the block being engageable by a courseof power for moving said member and block simultaneously to perform thecuttin operation.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 8 further characterized in thatsaid gripping member and cutter are independently adjustable along thefixed bar and support, While the grip block is adjustable along themeans for carrying the block whereby the contour of the cut may bevaried as well as diiferent widths of pieces may be op- REFERENCES CITEDThe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 73,339 Johnson Jan. 14, 1868273,614 Schmachtenberger Mar. 6, 1883 442,399 Safford Dec. 9, 1890477,459 Safford. June 21, 1892 644,285 Ek Feb. 27, 1900 1,108,167Hammond Aug. 25, 1914

